Typhoon could enter PAR by weekend - PAGASA
The tropical storm with international name ‘Kammuri’ has slightly slowed down on Wednesday but could still enter the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) as a typhoon this weekend.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) estimated the location of Kammuri at 1,755 kilometers (km) east of Visayas or over the sea southwest of Guam before Wednesday noon.
Kammuri has maximum sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 105 kph. It has slightly slowed down from 35 kph to 25 kph but maintained its westward track.
PAGASA said the cyclone may still enter the PAR on Saturday or Sunday and will be given a local name ‘Tisoy,’ the 20th cyclone this year.
Should it maintain its current speed and direction, Kammuri will be at 1,635 km east of Catarman, Northern Samar with a severe tropical storm strength on Thursday morning.
By Friday morning, the weather disturbance may have already reached the typhoon category and will be at 1,905 km east of Baler, Aurora, and by Saturday morning, it will be at 1,805 km east of Baler.
PAGASA said that by Sunday morning, Kammuri will already be inside the PAR or at 1,445 km east of Baler, and by Monday morning at 1,075 km east of Casiguran, Aurora.
The weather bureau was earlier looking into two possible tracks one is a possible landfall over Southern Luzon and another is a cyclone recurvature or close approach toward Northern Luzon. Since it is a long-range forecast, there is still a high uncertainty as to Kammuri’s final track.
As of Wednesday, Kammuri was still too far from the Philippines to adversely affect any part of the country.
For now, PAGASA weather specialist Aldczar Aurelio said the northeast monsoon or ‘amihan’ and the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) are the dominant weather systems prevailing across the country.
The ITCZ may bring cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms over Palawan, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Dinagat Islands, Bukidnon, Camiguin, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Lanao del Norte, Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Davao del Sur, and the whole Visayas.
Meanwhile, cloudy skies with light rains may be felt in Abra, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Apayao, Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Sorsogon, Masbate, Aurora and Quezon due to the amihan.
The amihan could also bring partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains over Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon.
The rest of Mindanao will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers due to localized thunderstorms.
Severe thunderstorms that may occur during late afternoon or early evening could trigger flash floods over low-lying areas or landslides over mountainous regions, Aurelio warned.
He also advised those with small sea crafts of risky sea travel over the coasts of Northern Luzon due to rough seas triggered by the strong amihan.